"In War: Resolution"

16 Comments:

Jimmy Carter takes, as usual, the loftiest view: the Iraq War, and Great Britain's acquiescence in it, constitute "a major tragedy for the world," and prove that the Bush Administration "has been the worst in history."

What's next, is Bill Clinton going to start charging Bush with cheating on Laura, and call Dubya's Presidency the most morally bankrupt in history?

Three brothers in the town of Baghdadi, one of whom who happens to be the Police Chief and is known as the ‘Lion of Al Anbar’, are particularly Gracious hosts. They were some of the first to stand up against AQI and to Stand with the Marines.

They have suffered greatly for choosing to fight AQI And for freedom. The Police Chief, Colonel Shab’an has had no less then 7 Direct assassination attempts against him. I was here last year and saw him After one attack against him was nearly successful. One of his brothers was Killed, a brother-in-law was tortured and beheaded, and one of his younger Brothers lost his legs in a mortar attack.

Yet, he remains committed to a Free and independent Iraq. His talks to me about freedom, democracy, and his Loyalty to Iraq and justice are inspiring.

Colonel Shab’an has become a sort of folk hero to his community and his Willingness to stand up for their freedom and safety has inspired thousands Of Iraqis.

Now, I don't think government representatives have any claim on explaining historical events and trends well. Certainly, they have no more a claim than anyone else.

Now, this all reminds me of a humorous story of a traveling salesman. Let's say that the taxpayer is a farmer, and the government is a salesman.

Well, the farmer says "You can spend the night in my barn, but do me a favor and don't stick your willy into any of the three holes in the wall." Well in this case, the salesman's willy represents the taxpayer's money, you understand.

Well, the government, like the salesman, can't help himself: Sticks his willy in the first hole, it feels good. Sticks his willy in the second hole, it feels even better! Sticks his willy in the third hole and it hurts like hell and it won't let go! Well in the morning the farmer comes out and he explains: "Behind the first hole was my wife, behind the second hole was me daughter, and behind the third hole was a milking machine that don't let go 'till it gets 50 GALLONS!"

Gentlemen, I propose that this historical revisionism is like a milking machine, and unless we shut it down it's gonna rip our dicks right off!

The Media Age allows the government to craft stories for different constituencies (holes) and so introduce cultural harm by sewing only division and pettiness.

American statesmen need to provide constant explanations to a public not well versed in history—not mere assertions—of what misfortunes to expect when they take the nation to war.

We have damn few statemen, and damn little stomach for misfortune. Didn't the Democrats and ANSWER and the UN and the Euroweenies tell us what bad things were going to happen back in 2003?

our morale is as important as our material advantages

Even more important, but our morale is under constant attack by oppositional elements within our own society who share short-term goals with the Far Enemy. Too many of my fellow citizens seek to accelerate America’s retreat from global hegemony and would punish those who stand in their way if they could for politically incorrect thought. This is not a conflict resolvable by Regular Strategic Communicators and Information Operators, nor should it be. They have polite fictions to maintain. This is a Domestic Internal Defense mission that only those political operatives and Civilian Irregular Information Operators sympathetic to American Exceptionalism can accomplish.

I really appreciate the perspective on current events that only an historian like VDH can provide.

With the ever increasing number of college course podcasts online you can begin to get a flavor of what is actually being taught at the university level and in what direction contemporary scholarship is heading, particularly with respect to history and the social sciences.

I've done several and hope to get through a lot more. It's too early to make an informed appraisal but you don't have to travel too far to reach the conclusion that "women's studies" are a farce. Harvard, in particular, seems infested with women who are rewriting history in the most outlandish, if not comical, ways.

It becomes obvious fairly quickly that VDH is a rare gem among contemporary historians.

Peter,Maybe you could do a short review of this one:---At 71, Physics Professor Is a Web StarWalter H. G. Lewin, a physics professor at M.I.T., has found devotees across the country with his online lectures.

"Harvard, in particular, seems infested with women who are rewriting history in the most outlandish, if not comical, ways."---They're riding the wave of the money extorted during the lynching of Larry Summers....gave a sensitive lady a case of the vapors, he did.Cad!

Look what has just happened to the heraldic badge of the Nordic Battlegroup, a force of 2,400 soldiers from Scandinavia with Ireland and Estonia thrown in for no very clear reason. Its badge used to show a lion rampant, the genitalia visible. Now this has been modified to cut off the offending parts. Writing up this fascinating illustration of where we are today, The Times of London quotes an American military blogger, “A castrated lion – the perfect symbol for European defence policy.”